Is Kenneth Cole Headed for Bargain Bin After Egypt Tweet?

The fashion designer found himself at the center of controversy Thursday after he posted an entirely insensitive and thoughtless remark to his Twitter account using the hashtag #Cairo and connecting the uprising in Egypt to his new spring line.

Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo.

What an interesting show of "support" for the thousands of courageous supporters who are risking their lives for democracy, don't you think? It takes someone truly, uh, special to use a violent, heartbreaking crisis to promote his clothing business.

The tweet has been removed, and Cole has since apologized on Facebook. But who knows if this retraction will be enough to calm the masses -- his fans are pissed!

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One can only wonder: What the hell was Cole thinking? He attempted to shed some light on the situation with this apology:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I've dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

I'm willing to cut the guy some slack. It was a stupid move, sure. But who hasn't tweeted before thinking?

Most people aren't so forgiving, however. In fact, Cole is being absolutely crucified online! A few fans are applauding him for the apology. But most are calling him every bad word imaginable and some are even calling for a boycott of his clothing. Talk about the punishment not fitting the crime. It's just a tweet, people!

Could it be that people are so overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation in Egypt and not knowing what to think about it, they are latching on to this situation because at least here there's an obvious villain? We're so far away from the Cairo crisis that it's frustrating not being able to help or support the protesters. Perhaps attacking Cole is assuaging our guilty helplessness even a little bit.

I think it's safe to say -- with all the bad press stemming from the tweet -- that this might be Cole's most unsuccessful spring collection yet. Maybe it's time to be compassionate and realize that should be punishment enough.